


Fear Not This Night

by EternalWinterSleep



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, How Do I Tag, I hope you enjoy it, I'm terrible, Keith has cat ears, M/M, Magic, Romance, akward nurse Lance, bonding over injuries, elvish lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-07 08:01:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7706878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalWinterSleep/pseuds/EternalWinterSleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith has traveled a lot during his life time, and he isn't even that old. He finally found a place he could settle down in and made a life for himself there, But apparently fate had other plans for him</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Will No Go Astray

Keith sighed as he headed off to his work gathering supplies for the local healer and apothecary. He started his day rather early and as he headed off to the nearby forest only a few people in the village where even awake. As he passed the Inn he saw a candle being lit in one of the upper rooms and grinned, one of his friends, Hunk, helped run the inn and was usually up around this time. Sadly he didn’t have time to stop and say hello until he got back. He touched his throat at where a simple necklace set with a red stone pendant rested. He smiled slightly and picked up his pace finding his normal trail into the woods. Today he was set to find some wild mint, Valerian Root and some ginseng. He found the mint patches with relative and pulled out his knife and carefully cut some off moving from bunch to bunch not taking too much from each to prevent the plant from dying. After he gathered what he needed he looked around, next was the valerian root, which he dreaded having to pick as it made him a bit loopy. Searching through his memories he headed to where he remembered seeing some a few weeks ago and hopes its still there so he can go get some breakfast. 

He saw the valerian patch up ahead and headed over it and stopped mid step as he felt like he was being watched. He pulls out his knife looking around cautiously scanning the trees and hears a screeching noise. He groans and puts away the dagger as he spots a fox finishing off a Rabbit and running off with it. The feeling of being watched seems to fade but Keith remains on guard anyway. He locates the Valerian and begins to dig it up minding the roots which is what he is there for. He quickly put the Valerian into a satchel and rubbed his hands in the dirt to get the smell off of his hands. He headed to the last known place he had seen the ginseng grow and as he arrived he saw movement ahead and stopped dead in his tracks as he catches a glimpse of a cloaked figure wearing a mask run past looking in his direction briefly before continuing on. Keith quickly decided he can get the ginseng later and it’s not that important before sprinting back to town.

He returned out of breath and slowed down heading to drop off what supplies he managed to harvest. He heard someone call his name and looks to see Hunk and his friend Pidge waving at him “Morning! You’re back early, found everything pretty easily today?” Pidge asked. Keith nodded “for the most part. I plan on going back out later for find the Ginseng but I’m just hungry and don’t want to wait.” He shrugged and headed to the Apothecary to drop off his finds. When he opened the door he is greeted by the incredibly potent smell of Lavender being diffused and makes a gagging noise “What happened to waiting til after I got back to do that” He covered his nose with his sleeve, eyes watering a bit. The old man in charge laughed “I’m sorry Keith I got ahead of myself this morning. I trust you found everything?” he inquired moving around the counter to meet with Keith so he didn’t have to stand inside. Keith pulled out the two satchels “I wasn’t able to find the Ginseng yet and will head back out later to find it, but I did find the mint and valerian root. The old man clapped his hands together “Perfect, This will do for now. I just need the Ginseng by tomorrow morning” He said and headed back inside dismissing Keith for the day. 

He headed back towards the Inn and passed by the Smithy to see the chimney’s already going. He sighed and veered over to the entrance and pushed open the door to see Shiro getting ready to work and doesn’t seem to have noticed the door opening. Keith cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted “Hey Shiro! You eat yet?” Shiro jolted startled dropping his bellows and looking over. “What? No, was just starting work” He called back. Keith frowned at him “I’m heading to the Inn to get food with Hunk and Pidge, come join us. You can work later, eat first.” He walked over and grabbed his arm dragging the blacksmith out. Shiro sighed and let himself be dragged along as he knew arguing the matter would get him nowhere. 

Some of the patrons at the Inn were waking and coming down for breakfast but enough where still sleeping that Hunk could sit and enjoy a meal before working. He set down a tray with fresh bread, fruits and some cheese as Keith and Shiro arrived and sat at the table. Pidge greeted Shiro then frowned “What have I said about being careful! You keep damaging the prosthetic! “She snapped and removed Shiro’s right arm and starts tinkering with it. Keith managed to get a piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil from Pidge between fussing over the arm and scolding Shiro and started drawing out the mask he saw earlier. Once Pidge has reattached Shiro’s prosthetic Keith hands them the sketch “So I saw some stranger in the forest earlier. I’ve never seen a mask like this, Have you?” He asked snagging a piece of bread and eating. Pidge pushed up her glasses looking it over “I think I’ve seen them in a few history books that the council has but I can’t recall which one, I’d have to go look later today when I have down time” Keith nodded and sighed shaking his head and eating and socializing with his companions. 

Shiro finished eating first “Well, I’m going to head out and get to work, those farm tools won’t fix themselves” He laughed and stretched. Hunk gathered up the dishes and took them away as there was a crash and the sound of splintering wood. The group hurried outside to see what was going on, only to find the guard captain unconscious on a broken barrel. 

In the plaza a number of wagons and men wearing armor and wielding swords and axes moving around were dragging people from their homes. There were a few robed figures’ standing near the wagons and one of them began chanting something, violet energy glowing around their hands

Shiro moved to get everyone back into the Inn to try and bar their attackers but stopped as two armed men moved behind the group and more coming from the side and in front. He assumed a combative stance, causing one of the attackers to laugh “Stand down cripple. You can’t do anything with one arm” Shiro heard a yelp from behind and looked to see that Pidge had been restrained and two men have Hunk on the ground and were working on restraining his arms. Shiro lowered his stance and the man restrained him and took the prosthetic off as Keith was restrained.

The strange cloaked figure finished his chanting and a pulse raced through the town and Keith heard a fracturing noise at his throat and looked down to see his pendant in pieces on the ground. He looked panicked as his human ears vanished and were replaced with black feline like ears and his pupils become slitted much like a cats. He felt something trapped against his lower back under his tunic and pants and was uncomfortable but wasn’t in a hurry to recall what it was as the man holding his arms back grinned. “Well well, a Kasselt, Didn’t think we would find such a jack pot in this Podunk town!” He laughed and began to drag Keith off. 

Keith’s ears twitched as he picked up on a whistling noise moments before an arrow buried itself into the man’s throat. There was a shout from a few guards and several more were hit and a familiar mask came into Keith’s vision as he was suddenly being dragged away from the town at a rapid clip, almost faster than he could move at himself. As he registered what was happening, he tugged at his arm “Hey! Let go! You left my-“  
The stranger pulled him close ducking behind a large tree hand pressed over Keith’s mouth “Do not argue, we must get away from here.” He whispered hurriedly “We are not yet far enough, they can still find us” He looked around “I am Lance, I won’t hurt you” He tugged the mask up showing his face briefly before taking Keith further into the woods. 

Keith tugged at his arm to no avail, this Lance had a ridiculously strong grip, and decided the next best action is to kick him behind the knee and throw him off balance. Lance stumbled falling, losing his grip on Keith’s arm and Keith took advantage of this to take off back to town. He heard what could only be Lance cursing in a strange language as he got back to his feet running after him attempting to get quite close enough to grab Keith’s arm again “Why are you going back? It’s too late for your friends!” He shouted and Keith stopped dead and clotheslines Lance who yelped falling back coughing as the wind was knocked out of him “It’s not too late! If you help me I can save them and then I will go with you, but I can’t leave them! Not after all they have done for me!” 

Lance pulled the mask off glaring at Keith “You will come with me after. But your passage is the only safety I can guarantee.” He said getting to his feet. Keith stared at him a moment trying to figure him out as he hadn’t seen someone like lance before. He had tanned skin with deep blue eyes and from what he can see brown hair; his features are sharper than humans Keith has seen before. Keith shook his head slightly “Fine. How should we do this?” he asked Lances jaw dropped “You… you were running back to save your friends and had no plan?” He threw his hands up “Great. Just great” He scowled” How about this. I will provide cover fire from one of the buildings and provide a distraction. I should be able to handle most of them while you go free your friends. You will lead them back into the woods and I will lead you away from this place” He stated matter of factly and pulled the mask back on “Let’s move Kasselt” He began to jog and Keith huffed “My name is Keith, Not Kasselt” He grumbled following behind. Lance appeared to shrug his shoulders in dismissal as the village returns into view. He headed to the back side of a building and scaled it with relative ease resting on the roof top. He looked out over the village and saw the people that Keith had been with prior to Lance’s intervention. He took careful aim with his bow and fired two shots into the horse and then sent a third arrow towards one of the spell casters. Before the arrow could reach him it burned to ashes a few feet away and their attention turned to him. 

Keith stayed hidden skirting around the edges of the town and avoiding what few slavers were left walking around for a final sweep and made his way to the wagon his friends had been secured in. He came up from behind them and began cutting the ropes binding their hands as Lance drew the slavers and strange magic user’s attention. Keith managed to cut through Hunk and Shiro’s bindings and started on Pidge’s when they were noticed. Shiro tackled the nearest Guard and knocked him out and Hunk just picked up Pidge and they start running. There was a burst near them as a ball of fire hits several Guards and gives them enough time to get past the building Lance is currently perched on. Keith heard a crashing noise and looked back cursing

Lance continued to provide cover fire hoping to keep their attention long enough for Keith to save his friends. To his dismay the slaver’s noticed Keith and changed their attention and had to resort to the one magic arrow he brought with him. He lobbed it at the nearest cluster of men and manages to catch on of the magic user’s in its blast, effectively knocking them down and setting their clothing on fire. Lance grinned as the humans manage to make it clear and moved to get off the roof when he was hit by a bolt of force in the side and thrown from the roof top. He crashed onto some fragile crates, out cold and bleeding. 

Keith shouted at the others to keep going and ran back to grab Lance, picking him up and carrying him on his back as he set after his friends. In his haste Lance’s mask fell and was left behind and forgotten in the fray. 

They ran deep into the woods not stopping for some time moving as quickly as they could manage. They stopped in a small clearing and sat down panting and Keith carefully lowered Lance to the ground before falling on his back trying to catch his breath. Hunk finished getting Pidges bindings off and Pidge hurried to lance and looks him over removing the cloak. Pidge gasped shocked as Lance had pointed ears unlike humans, and the only race that they have heard of having ears like this have not been seen for many years. Pidge quickly got over their shock looking over Lance’s wounds concerned. His side was bleeding where the bolt hit him but seemed to slow some; Pidge noted a number of bruises and abrasions from the fall. She started ripping up the cloak into bandage strips when the air around them seemed to waver and they saw themselves no longer in a clearing but under an archway and there were two guards with similar features, ears included, to Lance on either side of them. 

Keith’s ears flattened out as he looked up at them and slowly sits up eyes wide in surprise. One of the guards walked closer sheathing his sword and picked up Lance and takes him away swiftly without a word to them. The other guard beckoned for them all to stand and follow him, which they do without question. This couldn’t be any worse than what they went through right?  
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The group is brought before a woman with long flowing white hair, skin darker than Lances and strange pupils, talking quietly to a man with reddish orange hair and an identically coloured mustache. She nodded to the man and stood turning her attention to them. “Hello... I was informed you found our Village on accident, but had one of my people with you who is severely injured” Her voice is cool as she looked over them and her eyes fell to Keith and she walked towards him “You are a Kasselt? Fascinating” She murmured before clearing her throat “I am Princess Allura of Altea, and this is my Advisor Coran. What are your names?” She looked to each of them in turn. “Well, I’m Pidge, and this is Hunk” She piped up as Hunk appeared to be at a loss for words. Shiro bowed his head slightly “I am Shiro your highness” She peered at Keith waiting and he bowed awkwardly “I am Keith…” Allura nodded slightly not taking her eyes off of him “How did you come to find Lance? And how did he come by his injuries. They seem to have been caused by magic” She took a seat at an elegantly carved table “I did not think that the humans in this area practiced magic…” Pidge glanced at the others and cleared their throat “Well, our village was attacked… mostly humans … there were several people wearing cloaks, we couldn’t see what they looked like but they were the ones casting magic. It disenchanted Keith’s necklace first… then they ended up using fire on Lance when we were escaping. I’m pretty sure they were slavers…. And they took my family away” Pidge looked down clenching her hands “Lance saved our lives… He got injured during our retreat…”

Allura listened quietly, nodding occasionally to Pidge’s recap of the earlier events, and then beckoned for Coran and whispered something in a language they do not understand. Coran sputtered surprised, responding hurriedly and Allura laughed and turned to the group as Coran takes his leave. “So, as a token of our gratitude to your returning Lance to us, and as you currently have no were else to go, you will be the first humans to stay in our village, and will be our guests of honor.” She smiled “Allow me to lead you to where you will stay for now. Coran is getting fresh clothing for all of you so you can get cleaned up.” She turned to face Shiro and placed a hand on his shoulder “Also… Shiro right? We have a prosthetic for you. It can’t be easy doing everything one handed. This will be an additional token of our thanks” She led them off pointing out land marks that they should remember if they decide to explore, and took them to a house built into a tree. She ushered them inside and are greeted by Coran standing by a table with a metallic arm, and 4 pairs of clothing.

Allura scooped up the arm and sat Shiro down “Now, This might hurt a little bit but it will be worth it!” She took out a cloth and dusted off the base of the prosthetic making sure it is clean and made sure Shiro’s shirt was out of the way before placing the false arm against what is remaining of his own. Allura quickly let go as Shiro made a strangled noise of pain and grabbed onto the table with his new prosthetic and then stared at it eyes wide. “I just….” He fell silent and let go flexing the hand and moving his arm about. Pidge’s jaw dropped and stared at Allura “Your highness…. That’s a magic prosthetic!“ In awe Pidge began looking over the arm like it was the greatest thing ever. Allura stifled a laugh “Yes, It is an item we procured some time ago. It’s quite nice is it not? It should serve you well. The only way for it to be removed is if you lose the rest of your arm or you die.” Pidge nodded slightly “I have more questions, but I think that they can wait” She looked a bit sheepish and Allura nodded “of course”  
There was a knock at the door and the guard that took Lance away stepped in “apologies for disturbing you m’lady, but I came to inform you that Lance has stabilized and will be fine. He is awake and the healer cleared him to move around today. He has requested to visit our guests”  
Allura looked thoughtful “Tell him to rest and eat something and join our guests for supper. They need to rest and recover for a few hours.” She shooed him off and turned back to everyone “There are baths in each room, and you just touch the sigil on the side to fill or drain it with heated water. Enjoy and get cleaned up. You are all to join me for supper today, but take all the time you need. I hope that the clothes fit each of you. If you will excuse me I will finish making arraignments for you all” She bowed and left with Coran in tow leaving them to themselves. 

Pidge looked at all of them “I figured it out guys. They are Elves! Elves haven’t been seen in thousands of years! And the Altean elves where thought to be extinct for even longer! The elves here seem like wood elves, or some other similar variation. But the Princess and Coran are definitely different. I can’t believe it; we are staying in an Elven village and are going to have dinner with a Princess from a long dead race!” She grinned broadly and Shiro laughed “Well that would explain the quality of this arm then. I’m surprised they just gave it to me… something like this normally costs hundreds of thousands of gold.” He suddenly turned serious. “The princess said that we are the first humans to ever stay in this village; we need to be careful since we don’t know their customs, and hopefully we can stay long enough until we figure out how to rescue Pidge’s family and the rest of the village.” They all nodded in agreement and Hunk raised his hand a bit “Aren’t we a bit under prepared to stage a rescue of like, any kind? None of us are trained in combat, and we can’t exactly learn how too” Shiro looked to him “Well, we don’t have a lot of time but we should have enough so that we can learn to fight and take back our home” 

They all headed their own ways to get cleaned up, each picking out a room. Keith looked around the room, it was simple and most of the furniture appeared to be hand carved and some of it carved into the tree itself. He sat on the bed testing it and grinned, it was incredibly soft and comfortable enough so that he got up reluctantly denying himself a nap. He noticed a tub in the corner of the room with a glowing sigil on it just as he was instructed and looked startled as it began to fill with steaming water. He eagerly stripped down and stepped into the water slipping under its warm embrace purring contently. He looked a bit surprised for a moment before shrugging it off; he forgot he could do that. He found an assortment of scented fancy soaps and set to cleaning himself up and making sure his tail was also clean. He had honestly forgotten about it, seeing as it was more of an extension and not something he ever focused on. He spent a good hour in the bath he realized as it had begun to grow dark outside. He scrambled out of the water and brushed his hand against the sigil draining the tub quickly. He dried off and got dress, surprised to see that there was a slot in the pants for his tail, and hurried down the stairs to find everyone else waiting for him.

“Took you long enough! We were beginning to think you fell asleep or something” Pidge stood up. They each were wearing a simple tunic with some light weight pants with elegant embroidery and were given some slipper like shoes to wear. “So, we are supposed to go to where we met the princess right? For like, food?” Hunk piped up stomach growling “in the mess of today I’ve only eaten breakfast…” he grumbled. Shiro laughed and patted him on the back “Yes, we are to meet there. Now that everyone is here I think we can head out” he looked at all of them “Sound good?” they all nodded and follow out the door heading to the main tree abode. 

Allura was waiting for them there, the table filled with food of all varieties. Hunk stared at it nearly salivating as Pidge elbowed him and bows, to which Hunk follows suit. Allura waved her had dismissively. “There is no need for that my friends, you are our guests! Such formalities only consume time we can use to eat and make merry. Please sit! Lance should be here shortly and then we can begin eating!” she gestured to other seats at the table and they sat down looking a bit awkward. Allura turned her attention to Keith “So… Keith, you are a Kasselt? What about your parents… Where they normal humans? Or where they Kasselt like you? What’s it like to have a tail, does it feel odd? Or do you not even notice it.” She continued to fire off questions at a rapid pace looking curious and eager. 

Keith’s ears flattened and he gnawed at his lip slightly “erm, Well I don’t know my parents… they were killed when I was very young, I was told it was slavers looking to take me away and sell me”  
Allura’s eyes were no longer wide with curiosity but with horror “Sell you? How could anyone do that? Kasselt are sacred, what few records we had of them detailed that the beings humans mated with that resulted in them where divine beings and that the Kasselt as they appeared in later generations would bring luck and fortune to their family and they often grew up to be bringers of peace to lands without it” she appeared sorrowful “I am so sorry that such monsters took away your family…” she folded her hands in her lap looking at her plate as they hear footsteps enter the room.  
Lance walked in rubbing his arm that is in a sling, when he was blasted off the rooftop he messed up his elbow and shoulder but nothing that won’t heal up in a few days or less. The Healer used their magic to cure his major wounds but left the smaller ones to heal on their own, and gave him a potion to drink the next morning to assist with rapid recovery. He noticed an empty seat next to Keith and plopped down in it and looking around at everyone at the table. As opposed to when they first saw him his hair is neatly brushed, though still sticks up in a few places. That is until he ran his free hand through it mussing it a bit but still looking decent. “So, I have you four to thank for getting me out of there alive huh? I’m glad my injuries brought some good” He laughed and turned to Keith “And you are the one that carried me correct? Thank you.” He bowed his head slightly and seeming almost reluctant to do so. “Now, I’m starving! Let’s eat!” He started dishing up some food from nearby plates onto his own and began eating, and with that everyone followed suit. 

“So, Princess… You are from Altea? I thought that everyone from there died? How did you and Coran survive?” Pidges asked between bites of food. Allura glanced at Coran and then back to her “Well, Coran and I were put into a magic stasis that prevented our bodies from aging and we were hidden away to be released when the war was over. Only recently did we leave stasis, and that was actually thanks to Lance. His village took us in, and after learning who I was decided to follow me. We learned that the war with the Galra is not over as we thought, but they are more powerful than anticipated”  
When she was finished Pidge raised her hand slightly “What are the Galra? I’ve seen them mentioned in texts but never anything on what they were or where they came from.” Allura nodded to Coran who cleared his throat “Well, we believe the Galra to be from a foreign land or even from a different world. No one, not even our King was certain on their origin, but they had powerful spell casters and equally powerful combatants. Their steeds where almost as terrifying as they were… Some of them had strange abilities to turn a man to ash and destroy a home. The Galra themselves though, look a bit fuzzy sometimes, are a dark violet shade and have large bat like or even feline like ears and stand well over seven feet tall and have yellow eyes.”  
Hunk is the first to speak after Coran finished “Well, You know what? This food is delicious! What do you guys think?” He asked as a not so subtle change of subject as he dished himself up a spoonful of this weird goop he thought was some kind of dessert. He took a bite and his eyes grew wide and he quickly swallowed it down “Oh uh, what is that?” he asked forcing a smile. Coran puffed his chest out “Why that is a secret family recipe! Delicious is it not?” He said rather proudly and Hunk looked a bit awkward and proceeded to finish what is on his plate to not seem rude and hid his dislike of the taste. The air at the table returned to a more normal feel and everyone seemed to be chatting about in decent moods.  
Once everyone had their fill Allura bid them good night and left the room as everyone headed off. As Keith was heading back to the home he and the others were given he felt someone grab his arm and begin leading him off. He turned in protest when he saw Lance leading him away towards a secluded area. “Lance where are we…” Lance cut him off putting a finger to his lips and moved quicker with a grin.

Allura looked out the window at the group splitting up and sighs. Coran knocked at her door and entered bowing slightly “Princess… Are you certain they are the ones? They are so young… the only one to seem to have any training is Lance, and that’s just from hunting!” He looked concerned. Allura turned to him “I’m positive. You’ve read the scrolls just as much as I have. They are to be the ones to defeat the Galra and bring peace back. We might be able to take our home back Coran. We just need to train them. I’m sure that they can learn, just need to find their strengths is all” She cast her gaze down wringing her hands a bit. “I’m sure that they are the ones to save everyone. And I’m going to make sure they are equipped to be able too” she faced Coran with determination in her eyes “We will begin their training tomorrow. Lance will train as well once his shoulder is healed.” Coran smiled gently and nodded before leaving “Of course Princess. Rest well”

Lance led Keith to a small pond at the edge of the village and sat down on a fallen tree and patted the wood next to him. Keith sat down hesitantly “So, what do you need?” he inquired tilting his head slightly and ears flicking. Lance grinned suddenly “Let me touch your ears. Are they soft?” he reached his good hand out curiously. Keith smacked his hand away “no you can’t touch my ears and yes they are!” He covered his ears with his hands grumbling. A sly look appeared on Lances face and gently touched Keith’s tail with a grin “It is soft!” He beamed as Keith turned scarlet and stood up quickly hugging his tail to himself “I said don’t touch! Do elves not know what ‘no’ means?” He hissed glaring. Lance shrugged and looked apologetic “One, you said ears, not tail, and two I’m a Half Elf, not a full Elf. Come on, I won’t touch your tail again. I’m Sorry. Please sit down. I don’t get to talk with people my age very often. And I’ve never seen a Kasselt before, only heard stories” 

Keith looked apprehensive but sat down away from him ears back. “What do you want to know?” He flattened the fur on his tail before letting go and leaning back on his hands looking up at the sky. Lance looked thoughtful “Well, why would you hide your appearance? That necklace you had on this morning did it right?” He looked confused “You look quite nice with your normal look. The ears are nicer” Keith sighed “I guess you weren’t there for the discussion of slavery. Kasselt are rare like the Princess said, but there is more than that. People, especially rich people, will pay handsomely for people like me. We are valuable as pets and sex slaves, taking the good fortune thing to a whole new level” He said quietly ears flat against his head now. Lance scooted over and placed a hand gently on Keith’s shoulder “I’m sorry… I didn’t know.” Keith looked at him “It’s alright; your people have been cut off from the world for some time. I’m not surprised that none of you even think of slavery as a thing. You seemed to think that the people that attacked our town were going to kill us or something, but they were actually slavers. It’s far more common than most people would like to think of. It’s actually illegal in the kingdom but that doesn’t stop people coming from outside to take people away. “ 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the pair and Lance is the first to speak up “Your friends seem kind. I can see why you wanted to go back for them. I’m glad that we were not too late like I had thought” Keith looked surprised “I wouldn’t have been able to save them if you didn’t help me. I probably would have died had you not come with me. I mean I did save your life and all afterwards but your life wouldn’t have needed saving if I didn’t drag you back. I should be thanking you, and I suppose we are even” he chuckled and Lance grinned “I would say that we are!” 

They talk for a while more bickering occasionally before parting for the evening. Both young men left in high spirits not knowing what was to happen to their lives the next day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to Spacebrigayde for helping me with a few details in this! And for proof reading! 
> 
> This is my Klanceweek2k16 entry for the free day and will also be continuing on :) 
> 
> Sorry for some of the terrible inconsistancy in my writing, work has been hectic and i haven't had much for days off to write >.
> 
> Also, Titles for the entire series are inspired by the song i listend to the entire time i was writing the first chapters ~Fear Not This Night from Guild Wars 2


	2. Though Shadows Fall....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a morning person, And everyone starts learning to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ummmmmm hope you enjoyed it. And that it doesn't seem to rushed. Cause i totally rushed to finish this tbh....

Lance woke up early on routine and stretched. He cringed as his shoulder moved stiffly, but still felt better than the day before. He scooped up the potion bottle from his bedside and downing it quickly shuddering at the taste, it reminded him of bitter berries and soothing syrup he got for sore throats as a kid. He slowly moved his shoulder working the stiffness out and stretched out his elbow, it was definitely moving better than the day before and figured he should be good to resume normal activities tomorrow and work on improving his shot. He started to go find breakfast then figured he would go see if Keith and the others were awake.

Keith woke up with a start to sun shining in through the window. He looked around dazedly trying to register where he was, as the ceiling he awoke too was unfamiliar. The previous day’s event rushed back to him and he covered his face with his hands groaning. After a few minutes he finally got up and started his day getting dressed and heading down in search of food. He sees the others already downstairs eating cheeses and fruits looking half asleep like they didn’t get a good night’s rest. He grabbed a bit of fruit and cheese and started eating when there was a knock at the door before it opened to reveal Lance waltzing in and taking a seat in the window.

“Good morning! Thought you guys still might be sleeping and came to wake you up. Nice to see you awake already.” He smiled at them and gets grumbling sounds from everyone. He looked mildly amused and leaned back against the frame giving them time to wake up and sort themselves out. 

After everyone seemed a bit more awake Lance spoke up “So, you guys want a tour of the village today?” Lance offers “It can be easy to get lost here if you aren’t careful. “ Shiro nods “A tour would be great. And I think we could all use the exercise, it will help us wake up” He smiled and stand. Lance beamed at them and led them off too show them around. 

They get about half way through the tour when Coran found them “Ah, there you are. The Princess needs to see you immediately. If you would come with me” He says and leads the confused young adults off. 

Allura was waiting for them with a few scrolls in front of her and looked a bit relieved when they entered “Welcome friends. Please, have a seat. Might I offer something to drink? Water? Juice? Perhaps one of Coran’s health drinks?” She suggested as they all sit down. “No thank you Princess, but might I ask what is wrong?” Shiro inquired. She sighed and nodded “Yes, you know what prophecies are I hope? “ She said as she distributed the scrolls to them “These tell of a group of young heroes that will take back the lands from a growing evil and will defend the weak as they fight back oppression and end the Galra’s Tyranny. It speaks of someone incredibly loyal to their friends and uses their wits to assist them in life and in combat, one who is a natural leader and his companions will heed his advice, another depends more on instinct than skills alone to guide his actions, the next stands firm for his friends and does his best to help, and finally, one who is accepting of others and willing to give his all to help them, even total strangers. “She said eyes falling on each of them as she spoke. “And I believe that you five are those heroes and will lead the way to freedom. I want to help you get there, starting with physical training and weapons training. “  
They all looked dumb struck at this and Hunk was the first to speak up “You mean like, us, save the world from beings that even one of the greatest empires in history couldn’t defeat? Wouldn’t it be better to like, keep moving the other way? Live to fight another day and all” He said a bit nervous. Lance looked surprised “What? No! That makes no sense! It would be better to fight back and retaking the land. So that more people don’t have to suffer, we can do something about it!” He said passionately. Shiro and Keith looked skeptical and Shiro frowned “So, You think that we can save people that have been overrun by powerful creatures when the most combat experience any of us have are hunting, or in my case basic combat from being a slave. It would take months for us to get anywhere near combat ready” 

Allura nodded looking a bit grave “I am aware. That’s why you should start training as soon as possible. It can become muscle memory quickly and you can learn. But I believe you five are the ones foretold. And I’m willing to bet on you. I just need you to put your faith in me” She stood up and bowed to them “Please, let me help you reach what I believe you can. “ She straightened staring at them 

Keith looked to the others and then at the princess and deliberated “Well, if we do this when it’s all said and done we can retake our village. I think we should” He looked to Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk in turn and Shiro nods in agreement “You train us, and we will fight… But we won’t be able to do this by ourselves. We would need help and reinforcements” He turned to Allura who nodded “That would be provided, possibly by the people of this Village if they are willing. And as we travel Allies will be made. Friends and companions in combat will increases as we go.” 

They were lead to a training ground that has an array of weapons lined up for each of them and Coran was awaiting them there. “I took the liberty of selecting Items I believe suit each of you. For Keith, I have a long sword and a Shield, for Pidge a Light crossbow. Shiro, I believe you will excel with hand to hand combat and there are some light gauntlets to help protect your human hand. Hunk, you seem suited for a long spear. And Lance, you will continue with your long bow, but we do have a new one for you. We shall see how each of you handles these weapons and if my assumptions are correct.” He said and gestured for them to take up arms.

The each picked up their designated weapon and they suddenly released a brilliant light and pleased song filled their heads and images of felines appeared dancing around their minds before fading to a soft hum in the back of their minds. Allura’s eyes were wide staring at the glow as it separated out from the weapons and spiraled above their heads before dissipating.  
Coran’s eyes had become wide “This confirms that you are the ones… These items are ancient and intelligent, only awakening for their true wielders in times of strife. They were hidden away with Allura and myself. Using these should come almost naturally to you and will train you themselves and guide you and allow you to unlock their secrets. I’m sure you guys can do it! And I will prepare high protein energy meals for you!” he grinned broadly and heads off. 

Keith looked over the sword and shield with curiosity and felt a nudging in the back of his mind egging him on to the dummy and it began guiding his actions and teaching him with images flashing through his mind. Out of the corner of his eye he notices the others begin to follow suit and shook his head turning all his attention to the training his new… companion? Was putting him through. After about an hour he stopped to rest and drinks some water and watches the others as they pressed forward. Shiro seemed to be doing alright still, being a blacksmith does wonders for your stamina. Pidge was mostly doing target practice but occasionally something strange would fire out and pulled them to a different area like a weird green grappling hook. Hunk’s spear appeared to do massive amounts when it struck, far more than seemed possible. 

His eyes finally fell on Lance who, he noted had stripped his tunic off revealing a slender frame covered in lean muscle. His ears perked up as he watched Lance’s shoulder’s come together and arm muscles begin to strain as he drew back the bow. Energy began to gather at his fingertips and extend back forming into an arrow made of ice. He releases it and it flies true hitting his target dead on before exploding into a burst of frost coating the entire board. Lance looked surprised and grinned broadly before firing off another arrow that cleared all the ice off of the board with a bang like a thunder clap.

He watched Lance fire off a few more shots before tearing his eyes away and returning to his own training until lunch. Coran brought them a strange dish that almost seemed to radiate a strange odor “Here you are gentlemen! A meal filled with all the nutrients you need to get fit and stay healthy” Keith covered his nose ears going flat against his head “I don’t know, that doesn’t smell very appetizing…. Are you sure it’s safe to eat? It smells dangerous” 

Lance covered his mouth trying not to laugh “C Coran, not everything you make is very good if you recall. Cuisine from Altea is far different from here. Just cause the ingredients are healthy doesn’t mean its edible.” He looks amused as it dawns on Coran “Ah you are right! I forgot that matter. But I have already made this, what should I do with it?” He looked at the platter frowning “Ah! I know, perhaps the princess will enjoy it” he said and walks off whistling. 

Hunk’s stomach growled and he looks around “There is a lot of food left over from breakfast. Let’s just go eat that” he said and heads off back to their abode. The others follow suit and Lance fell in step with Keith “You seem to handle a sword pretty well for someone untrained in combat. Must be a natural” He grinned and Keith looked a bit surprised “Well, I’ve wielded a blade before, mostly for carving through the deeper parts of the forest. And I’m not bad with a dagger. So, I just extended some of that and let her guide me in the rest. It made it really easy” He shrugged “The shield is a bit odd and an unusual weight but I think I can adjust to it. So, what about you? Obviously you know your way around a bow, but this one is definitely interesting”  
Lance’s eyes brightened “It is! She is easily excited and tried cramming everything she can do in my head at once. I had to convince her to start over; it’s weird calling a bow her by the way, but that’s beside the point. I don’t have to carry arrows with me, they just appear! And I can make different kinds; apparently even make grappling lines and the like.” He continued to rabble on as he tugged his tunic over his head. “So, does your sword do anything cool? “ He tilted his head slightly.

Keith nodded “I haven’t tried it yet but apparently I can engulf the blade in fire while in combat and rend through just about anything with it. I might give it a shot after lunch” He looked thoughtful as they walked in and found available seats. Lance immediately turned his attention to Hunk inquiring over his Spear and how he managed to obliterate the boulder he had hit.

Shiro sat next to Keith an amused smirk on his face “You warmed up to Lance pretty quickly! You normally avoid strangers like a plague. I imagine it probably has more than just he saved us to do with it” He looked at Lance as he had now turned to Pidge asking questions and poking fun at the hand crossbow before he was suddenly on the ground coughing and stunned as pidge shocked him. Keith and Shiro laughed and appeared concerned as Hunk checked him over. After a few minutes Lance was able to get off the floor and rubbed his head apologizing sheepishly to Pidge. 

They all head back to the training area and Coran is there “Ah, You are back from eating. Next on today’s agenda is hand to hand combat training for all of you. Shiro, you will train with one of our guards since you have more experience. Pidge and Hunk, you two will be paired off and go through the motions and work on fighting against different sized opponents. Lance, Keith, You two will work practice working on grappling and restraining your opponent.” He dismisses them to different areas where each of them have an instructor per pair guiding them through the tasks and showing them before having them face off against each other. 

Lance insists on stretching beforehand and sits Keith next to him. “Alright, just follow my lead. Don’t want to pull anything, the salve they put on when you over work something smells like death” He shudders and stretches his legs out and reaches forward slowly grabbing onto his toes and resting his forehead against his knees breathing slowly. Keith stretches following suit and barely manages to touch his toes, let alone basically fold at the waist. After about thirty seconds Lance moves his legs out to the side doing the splits and leaning forward again. Keith just stares at him “How are you so flexible? “ He says barely getting half way to doing splits. Lance laughs “Well, I have lots of practice, and I’m very active and move around a lot. With time you should be able to do this too. It will also help your combat skills if you can move better. Alright, well, arms next, this part should be easier for you” He laughs and leads him through warm ups before they get into position to begin their practice.

Lance circles Keith with a grin looking for an opening. Keith crouches down watching and when Lance is midstep launches himself, tackling him to the ground and attempts to restrain him. One of his arms makes It under Lance’s arm but before he can lock in place he feels himself flipped over aggressively onto his back knocking the wind out of him, and Lance has his arm twisted up controlling his movements, and Keith’s hips pinned under him, knees applying pressure to dissuade against squirming too much as he is straddled. Keith’s ears go back he hisses attempting to struggle, but to no avail. Lance let go and helped him to his feet with a smug look on his face “Best two out of three?” He offers and Keith nods looking determined. They go again and Keith waits for Lance to make the first more. 

Lance keeps a defensive stance up as he keeps an eye on Keith’s movements, looking for any hint at what he is going to do. He realizes that Keith is waiting for him to act and just grins before moving into action. He throws a high turning kick at Keith who moves to block it when Lance’s leg locks his arm in place pulling him down quickly. Lance releases his arm and grabs onto it bringing it behind his back. Keith uses his free arm grabbing onto the back of Lance’s tunic and leans forward while pulling and manages to flip the gangly young man over onto his back and Keith quickly straddles Lance pinning his arms above his head and attempting to apply the same pressure Lance did when he had him pinned. Thinking he has Lance pinned he grins making a pleased sound. Lance just smirks and bucks his hips up throwing Keith off balance. He flipped Keith and had him on his back once more straddling him, this time Keith’s hands above his head. Lance leans down, his face close to Keith’s “Don’t let up unless you are sure you have subdued your opponent.” He grinned “You know, this is a pretty good look for you” He whispers and pulls Keith to his feet and heads to go get water while Keith stood there dumb struck a blush creeping across his features.  
Keith went and found a place to sit and regain his breath while waiting to switch off with the others and work on different close combat techniques. He closed his eyes leaning back against the tree and sighed as a gentle breeze blew into the clearing.  
Lance watches the others for a bit before going off to find Keith again to see if he wanted to spar a bit until it was time to switch off with the others and finds him dozing. He smiles slightly and sits next to him careful not to disturb him and relaxes watching him from the corner of his eye. Keith’s ears twitched with every sound made in the area but he did not wake even to a loud yelp from Pidge falling over. Lance smiled and leaned his head back, This is pretty relaxing… I can see why he nodded off He thought as he yawned and closed his eyes with the intent of getting a quick nap while waiting. 

Pidge and Hunk finally finished up and declared that they were too sore to continue and wanted to resume tomorrow. Shiro agreed with them, considering they were not warriors, and didn’t have the stamina to go further, and then noticed Keith and Lance were not there. Coran looks thoughtful and starts looking for them and finds them both asleep against a tree. He chuckles as Allura walks over to check on progress and frowns seeing them and opens her mouth to wake them and Coran quickly hushes her “Let them rest. They have made good progress today. I think they have earned it. Hunk, Pidge and Shiro walks over and see them and grin. They all plop down on the ground around the other sides of the large tree and lean against it, taking a cue from their friends and catching a nap. 

Two hours pass and everyone wakes with a start to drums sounding through the village and Lance is on his feet in an instant eyes wide. “Those are the warning drums. Something is wrong” He takes off at a run grabbing his bow as the others clamber to their feet groggy and a little disoriented. They grab their weapons and follow after Lance barely managing to keep him in sight. Everyone seemed to be arming themselves and mobilizing for combat. Coran ran to them “Quickly, with me. You must be properly equipped!” he hurries them to a small hut that people are moving in and out of. He grabs a chest from under the floorboards and drags it out to them opening it up “We were going to bring this out tomorrow and have you try this equipment on but there is not time. These will magically size themselves too you.” He begins assisting with equipping everyone. Lance is wearing flexible leather with bracers and finger guards; Keith is suited with Light Chainmail; Pidge has padded armor that is light weight and easy on their frame, Shiro has light leather armor to prevent restrictive moments, and Hunk is outfitted with a chain shirt. 

As Coran finishes the final clips on Hunk’s armor there is a surge at the barrier around the village falls and they see familiar cloaked figures lowering their hands. Large figures are moving through the trees to the village, and Coran pales “The Galra found us. How did they find us” His voice is hoarse and he runs off to Allura. Lance starts cursing in elvish and heads toward the fray. He finds a vantage point on a low roof top and takes careful aim at one of the spell casters. His arrow flies and the casts sees the flash and throws up a barrio, but the arrow passes through it without faltering and strikes true. Lance fires off several more arrows at the Galra, hitting them but it only stopping a few. He hears Coran shout his name and gets down quickly moving back to where the others are waiting for him. “We have to fight. You all have to fight. I know you are all inexperienced but we have to push them back, and we need your help. Follow the weapons, and listen to them. They will be able to help you”  
The Galra have made it further into the village and are leaving destruction in their wake. It’s taking two of the Elven warriors to match one of the Galra and bring them down, and even then they come out of it wounded. Lance takes a deep breath and looks to his new friends “We can do this. We can fight, and we can win. We are supposed to be the heroes of legends. We won’t die here,” He grins at them “we got these guys. And we will have a celebration after!” He takes off back to combat finding the best vantage point and everyone splits off. 

Keith heads directly into combat sword and shield in hand and fire erupts from the blade as he closes on a Galra soldier. The Galra hefts his great sword and swings it down and Keith barely dodges the blade as it leaves a crater where he had been standing. He grits his teeth and lets forth a battle cry swinging at the soldier taking advantage of the pause in lifting his blade and cuts through both the soldiers’ arms as the fire coating his blade grows more intense. The Galra screams in pain before an arrow pierces through his forehead silencing him instantly. Keith hears his name shouted and turns just in time to raise his shield against another attacker and is knocked back several yards from the impact of a Warhammer to his shield. He feels his arm break, as well as other various pains popping up and barely bites back a cry of pain trying to get to his feet, tears welling in his eyes. He sees the Galra begin to charge him and two Elven warriors try to intercede and draw his attention. An arrow breaks against the Galra’s armor but is covered in ice temporarily restricting his movements long enough for a spear to erupt from his chest from behind and the warrior falls to the ground, Hunk standing behind him. 

There is a shout from one of the two remaining cloaked figures and the remaining Galra pull back retreating from the village. A burst of light emitting from the center of the village moves outwards restoring the barrier and the illusion of nothingness over the proximity. Healers hurry through the village and the worse injuries being treated on the spot, others being carried to a designated medical zone. 

Keith see’s the others running towards him, and feels catch him as he collapses from pain his vision blurring a bit. He hears someone talking, but can’t place who and sees his friends standing over him worried as he loses consciousness.


	3. Still The Stars Find Their Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is in recovery from the battle and Lance is an awkward nurse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little more Lance and Keith focused than the firs ttwo chapters -cough- I'm still getting into the swing of things, and the chapter isn't as long as i might have liked but i wanted t oget something out today. I hope you guys like it >.

Lance sees Keith barely standing after taking a blow from a particularly powerful combatant, and fires on the fighter. He curses as his arrow is unable to penetrate the armor but at least the ice effect momentarily affects his movements giving Hunk time to move behind and finish the job. He starts moving towards where Keith is and continues to fight, managing to take out another one of the annoying magic users. They call a retreat as they are slowly being overwhelmed, clearly having underestimated this village.

Lance breaks into a run to Keith and manages to catch him before he falls and lowers him to the ground, his head on his lap. He brushes Keith’s hair from his face looking him over and see’s that his arm is obviously broken and he most likely dislocated his knee. He tries to get Keith’s attention and keep him conscious until a healer could come but he fell unconscious quickly. Lance had Pidge assist him with removing the shield carefully and set to undoing the holding links of Keith’s Chain shirt, pausing occasionally comfort him as pain clearly crossed his features. After the links were undone it took several hands to get the shirt off, trying to move Keith as little as possible. Two healers hurry over, already looking ragged from running around and start cataloging Keith’s injuries. They lift his tunic carefully to reveal large purple bruises on his abdomen and chest, and several bruises on his back. They call for a stretcher and move Keith on, taking him to be immediately treated.

They all help others around them getting them to treatment or covering their fallen companions working for several hours. They are finally corralled to the medical tents and are able to see Keith while getting their own injuries treated mostly bruises, scrapes, and cuts. Keith’s colour seemed to return a little and the bruising was already clearing with the healing salve the place on most of his body. His arm and knee both were fully healed but are still in a splint until they can speak with him and have him move.

Lance sticks around when everyone goes to rest and recover for the night as it is incredibly late in the evening. He pulls up a stool next to Keith’s cot and dabs a cool cloth on his forehead. While the healers could heal all of his external wounds, and most of the internal ones, they often could do little for the bodies reaction to the injuries. Keith’s temperature had spiked from the shock of it all, and Lance insisted he could at least monitor Keith and alert someone if it got worse so that the healers could rest and tend to others.

Lance stays up most of the night, thankful he needs less sleep than normal humans. Often elves did not sleep and instead meditated unless they expended excessive amounts of energy channeling magic or fighting. Keith’s fever broke around dawn and Lance fell asleep with his head on his arms at the edge of the cot.

Keith woke to whispering near him and opened his eyes groaning. He started to sit up when he felt a hand gently press on his chest and he looked up to see Shiro standing next to him

“Easy there” He whispers “You shouldn’t sit up just yet. You fell unconscious shortly after taking a serious blow from one of the Galra warriors… The healers tended to most of your wounds. Your arm had been broken and your knee dislocated but that was taken care of. You still have some bruising and scrapes and things but they opted to let that heal naturally.“ He smiles looking relieved and ruffles Keith’s Hair.

Keith swats at his hand and grimaces as his ribs twinge “Why are you whispering? I-” He gets cut off by Shiro covering his mouth and grumbles ears flicking in annoyance. He feels a shift and hears someone next to him sigh and looks over to see Lance deep asleep, head and arms still resting on the cot.

“He said he would stick around and keep an eye on you while the healers went and tended to others and rested. And wouldn’t hear a word of us sticking around, saying he doesn’t have to sleep as much as us. We don’t know how late he stayed up” Hunk pipes up softly “Figured we would let him sleep as much as possible”

Pidge nods in agreement and slips out of the tent returning moments later with the healer that had been tending him previously. She looked him over and had him move his arm and knee carefully and cleared him fit to move around but to take it easy. “I will send you with more salve to apply to your bruises. It will assist with rapid healing and everything will clear up in a day or two.” She bows her head slightly and hands the jar to Keith and departs to return to other work.

“I’ll go grab you some clean clothes. I imagine Hunk might be able to wrestle up some food” Shiro smiles and leaves with Pidge and Hunk.

Keith sighs and looks at Lance, who managed to sleep through the entire exchange with the healer. He notices a number of small bandages on his face and his fingers are each individually wrapped up, spots of now dried blood in various places showing through the bandages. He reaches out to brush Lance’s bangs from his face and pulls his hand back quickly as Lance opens his eyes looking at Keith dazedly. “Uh, Good morning. Sleep well?” He asks scratching his cheek glancing away.

 

Lance stares at him blankly for a moment as he wakes up before his eyes grow wide and reaches out suddenly placing his hand on Keith’s forehead. “Oh good… Your fever didn’t come back… Are you hurting? Did the healer come in yet? Here let me go get them don’t move” Lance blurts and scrambles to his feet and almost falls over supporting himself on Keith’s cot and quickly sits down startled as his legs where asleep.

 

Keith listened to lance babble quickly and then almost fall over and covers his mouth stifling his laughter. Lance looks at him incredulous a blush crossing his cheeks and Keith’s hand falls away to hold his sides as he continues to laugh before making pained noises while laughing. “Oh gods, laughing hurts! But your face!” He manages to say tears forming in his eyes “It was great!”

 

Lance looks at Keith concerned and embarrassed a small smile crossing his face “Glad I could entertain… Once my legs are functioning I’ll go get a healer”

A page enters with clothing and food, seemingly for them both. “I was asked to bring these here…“ She sets them down on a side table and scurries out of the tent without further word.

 

Lance stands slowly, still a bit unsteady but able to walk over to the table and grab the food “Hungry? Looks like there is some fresh cheese, ooo and Star Fruits! These are the best!” He grabs the plate and returns to his seat next to Keith and sets the plate on Keith’s Lap “Here, I’ll show you how to cut them” He grins and works through trimming and deseeding the fruit. He holds up a slice to Keith “Try it .It’s Delicious!”

 

Keith takes it from him and bites into it. His ears perk up “It’s sweet and tart. I like it” He eats happily as Lance cuts more of the fruit up for him and then starts cubing some of the soft cheese.

 

Lance smiles and watches Keith eat and enjoy the food for a moment before looking down at his hands “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you sooner… You almost died because I was to slow” He says quietly.

 

Keith looks at him surprised “What do you mean? You had your own opponents to take care of. And, you warned me with enough time to get my shield up. It was our first actual battle… The fact that I only broke a few bones, all of which are now healed, is a miracle…. Is that why you stayed here all night? Cause you felt responsible?” He reaches out and places his hand on Lance’s arm

 

Lance looks at the hand on his arm before looking at Keith, meeting his eyes. “Partially, I also felt like I needed to stay by your side last night. I can’t really explain it to be honest with you.” He shrugs. “Here, let me get my hands rebandaged and then I’ll get out of your way so you can get changed and finish eating. He starts to starts to stand as Keith squeezes his arm

 

“Here, let me fix the bandages on your hands. I can’t imagine it being easy to redo finger bandages with one hand” He moves the plate off to the side and grabs the clean wraps from near his bed and shifts over a bit grabbing Lance’s wrists and inspecting his hands looking for the ties. He slowly undoes the bandage on each finger setting them aside to be cleaned for later. He grabs the jar of healing Salve “This can be used on cuts right?” He asks looking at Lance.

Lance nods “Yeh, it can, it just stings like no other though, but go ahead, the sooner this is healed the better.”

Keith dips his fingers in the pungent goop wrinkling his nose and his ears lying flat against his head “Ugh, this stuff reeks… It has lavender in it doesn’t it.” He grumbles smearing it onto Lance’s blisters and cuts “Why didn’t you let the healers take care of these? It would save you a lot of pain” He pays close attention to the cuts, on his right hand they appear to be mostly on his fingertips, like a taunt cord cut through, and on his left blisters and mild abrasions litter his palm.

Lance cringed as Keith applied the salve to his battered hands “Yeh, it’s one of the main ingredients aside from the magic imbibed in it… They had worse injuries to care for, and it’s not like my hands haven’t gotten like this before. It’s just been awhile.” He shrugs absently “Blue got excited during the combat and over powered a few shots… Since I’m using a new bow, and it isn’t exactly normal my hands didn’t entirely agree with the intensity”

Keith nods listening individually wrapping Lance’s fingers and hand with careful practice. “You need finger guards. I know when everything is suddenly happening you can’t always be prepared but you should take better care of your hands.” He quietly suggests.  


Lance looks surprised “I actually had hand guards for a while, but I out grew them and never bothered to replace them. I guess I probably should get new ones” He smiles at Keith “Thanks for bandaging my hands… It would have been harder otherwise. Do you need any help now?” He asks stretching.

 

Keith nods “er, actually I don’t know if I can lift my arms high enough yet for changing out of my tunic” He mumbles blushing darkly “They said stiffness was normal and that it would go away in a few days but…”

 

Lance looks startled a blush crossing his face as well “Right, I uh, I can help with that” he coughs and stands walking to the pile of clothes and grabs Keith’s clean tunic and sets It down “Um, lean forward a bit. I’ll tug it over your head” He grabs the bottom of the tunic and tugs it up and pulls it over Keith’s head and over his shoulders gently. Lance grabbed the salve from next to Keith “Here, Let me put a bit of this on… It doesn’t look like any has been put on since last night” He uncaps it and begins to gently apply it across the vast bruising with his fingertips. “Let me know if I’m applying too much pressure” he murmurs as his fingers trail over Keith’s side.

 

Keith tries not to laugh as Lance’s hands trail over his sides “It tickles a little bit but… It doesn’t hurt too much…” Keith pointedly keeps from making eye contact with Lance trying to keep from blushing to darkly. He was just helping him, so why did he feel so self-conscious?

 

Shiro heads to the tent Keith was in to check on him. “Keith? Everything alright?” He calls as he pushes open the tent flap. He looks confused as Keith and Lance are both looking flustered. “Did I…. Interrupt something?”  
  
Lance clears his throat and hands Shiro the tunic “Uh, No… I was just applying Salve… I uh, I gotta go” He stammers and bolts out of the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try and have another chapter out next Sunday. Work has been kicking my ass lately with leaving staff and taking over for a manager so..... yeh. Thanks for reading.


	4. Awaken From A Quiet Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communing with weapons isn't the weirdest thing that's happened lately, at least Keith doesn't think it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So early update. Its not too long but I'm happy with this part and will still try to have something out on Sunday if I'm able. Work has been kicking my butt, and I'm currently at work unable to sleep so i Threw this together. no proof reading or anything but yeh, Thanks to those that have commented on here. You guys are so nice and part of my driving for to keep going with this :) Enjoy!

Keith got up and moving once he was dressed and left the healers tent with Shiro. They see Coran pacing in front of where he and Allura stay looking restless. Keith frowns and walks over “Coran? Is everything alright? What’s going on” he asks confused

Coran looks up at him from his pacing and sighs “The princess is doing a ritual… It hasn’t been done successfully before except by her late father… She said she could do it but I’m still concerned…” He bites at his thumb, gaze returning to the ground as he begins to pace again.

Keith nods slightly and leaves Coran to his pacing and head back to the house. He see’s Hunk and Pidge meditating with their weapons across their laps, and looks to Shiro rather confused “What in the world are they doing?”

Shiro walks and grabs Keith’s sword, cleaned and sharpened, and hands it too him “Communing with them. You should as well… If you feel up to it that is, Coran said that because they are sentient to a degree talking to them after battle and in down time helps deepen the bond between you and the weapon, and unlocks further abilities. I’m going to go do that now as best I can but apparently I’m missing half of the set.” He runs his hand through his hair “I’ll be in my room if you need anything okay? Make sure you take it easy” He gently pats Keith on the back and heads up the stairs.

Keith watches Shiro depart and looks at his sword thoughtfully before heading to his room as well. He propped open the window and sat on his bed cross-legged and set the sword across his lap. He placed one hand on the hilt of the blade, the other near the tip and closed his eyes focusing his breathing.

He opens his eyes and sees a broad expanse of red lilies and a volcano in the distance, smoke rising from the caldera. He scrabbles to his feet startled turning around in circles trying to figure out what’s happening. All around him he sees endless stretches of fiery red lilies and volcanic ranges. When he comes full circle he sees a woman standing a few feet away, her hair almost looks like living flames and she is wearing an elegant gown that brushes the tops of her bare feet.

She tilts her head and slowly walks towards him. “This is our first time speaking like this, is it not my Knight?” She breaths, her voice deep and sultry. “I am relieved to see you have overcome your injuries and recovered. When the only one who touched me was the Black Knight I grew worried, as your mind was closed off from me.” She reaches out and places her hand on his face “I am-“ Her voice blurs strangely, as Keith is unable to process the word she spoke “- However my name is impossible for your tongue, and I am simply called Red. She looks deep into his eyes, and he can see her iris’ are orange with red edges, and slit like a cats “You must find the artifacts… They will take a new form upon your arrival but they currently are statues, hidden away several leagues from here. They will serve you loyally, and assist you in your war to reclaim your land. Your companions will have learned this as well.”

Keith listens to the strange woman, Red, with wide eyes at a loss for words. When he heard commune with the weapons, he thought it would be like when he was learning the abilities. Not some dream state. He wasn’t entirely sure how to take all of this, and being given a mission by her, was definitely not on his list of things he expected.

“Oh, one more thing…. You and the Blue Knight are tied together in your destinies, more than with the others. Do not let him fall. Now rest, and heal my Knight. You must set off in the morning. The princess will lead the way” Red whispers before the field begins to warp and twist into darkness and he jolts awake lying flat on his back.

Keith feels his sword, warm in his hand, the blade shimmering and pulsing before going still. He sits up looking around the room and sighs. “well that was a field trip” He grumbles tail twitching in annoyance. He reaches onto his bedside table and grabs the brush sitting there and starts brushing his tail in short light strokes getting tangles out of it trying to process everything that just happened. _Okay, So the Sword is a Woman, her hair is on fire, I’m supposed to go find some magical artifacts, and I’m supposed to look after the Blue Knight? Who is the Blue Knight? Lance? His bow does have blue wraps on it. And his armor is Tinted blue… Wow they didn’t get very creative with the names…._

As Keith finishes brushing out his tail and lost in thought his ears perk up to a rumbling sound from far away followed by violent shocks running through the building. As the shocks subside Keith bolts out of the room seeing Shiro entering the hall. “What in the world was that?!”

Shiro shakes his head “I’m not sure, but we need to find out what. Let’s go” He remarked as he hurried down the stairs.

Keith followed quickly behind to find Pidge and Hunk already heading out the door.

They follow behind and look around. Lance is standing in the clearing eyes trained on the sky, prompting them to see what it was. A large silvery blue ship was manifesting itself out of the air and setting down just outside the village in a clearing. Coran is walking outside supporting an exhausted looking Allura who has a tired, but pleased grin on her face “I did it. I summoned the Castle of Lions” She sighs with relief.

Lance goes and helps Coran support Allura “Castle? But it is a ship…” He frowns leading her to a safe place to sit down.

Allura laughs weakly “Well yes, But it doesn’t translate exactly over from Altean to the Elvish language or to the Common tongue. But, it is far more than a ship…. It’s ancient, and powerful. And tied to my families’ bloodline until it is passed to a new family… It will take us away from here to take the war to the Galra”

Keith and company walk over “So… You guys hear from your weapons about finding more artifacts to aide us in this battle?” He asks as Lance stifles a laugh. He frowns “Why are you laughing. Did I say something weird? Well weird than talking weapons...”

Lance shakes his head slightly “Your uh, tail… It’s all poofed up… “

Keith looks surprised and peers over his shoulder to see his tail twitching and is indeed poofed up. He grumbles and sleeks the fur down quickly “I was startled okay? I can’t exactly control this but what my tail does is not of importance right now. “

Pidge nods adjusting her glasses “Keith is right. Green mentioned going and finding artifacts and that the Princess would have a means of getting to them and transporting them. I’m guessing she meant the ship then.”

Coran nods slightly “Yes. I know what artifacts that the Weapons would speak of. If they think we need to find those… Then things are graver than I thought” He looks to Allura “You must rest the rest of today… I presume the weapons said we needed to leave in the morning?” He looks to all of them

Everyone nods in turn to Coran’s question.

Hunk raises his hand slightly “So… We are supposed to go find statues, which will supposedly help us, while traveling in a giant magical boat? Isn’t… Isn’t there an easier way to do this? I don’t do well on boats” He mutters the last part, looking a little green under the collar.

Shiro nods slightly “The boat will be our best option. And the fastest, I’m sure it won’t be the same as actually going on a ship on the water. The sky I’m sure doesn’t quite move like water.” He places his hand on Hunks shoulder “You’ll be fine… But we should all pack and prepare if we are leaving in the morning.”

“I’ll help you guys gather supplies…. And find clothing. I just have to pack my things. So in a way I have way less to do” Lance suggests “We should be able to get more clothing for you all, and some care supplies for your gear, I mean magic or no it still needs to be cared for” He looks thoughtful “Hunk, Shiro, you two will be best to help carry things. Pidge, If you run to the healers they should have some more salves we can take with us. He looks at Keith and momentarily looks a bit embarrassed before his thoughtful expression returns, no one else noticing a change “You need to rest. You are still recovering…. I think we can handle the heavy lifting” He smiles at him

Keith sighs “Alright, you have a point. I do need to rest… Just let me know when you have my things and I’ll organize them myself.”   


Lance nods slightly “Fair enough” He waves slightly and then leaves with Hunk and Shiro in tow talking animatedly while Pidge hurries off to the healers. Coran helps Allura to the healers to get something to help her rest and recover her energy so she could be good to go the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates and occasional rambling feel free to follow me at EternalWinterSleep on Tumblr!


	5. Hear the Whispering of the Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They begin getting supplies to prepare for their epic journey. Keith and Lance have a bonding moment, and a bit of Lance's life is reveled (i'm sorry i suck at summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally have a reasonable explanation to the really late chapter -cough- One, work has been kicking my ass up and down the block lately. Two, I might have started something else cause my ass can't focus half the time. But i did it! This hasn't been proof read and its currently 0300 as i'm posting this. Enjoy!

Lance leads Shiro and Hunk off to go get a pull cart and takes them to the blacksmith first “Alright, so… I know about treating leather and bows, but not swords and chain mail. You did blacksmithing right Shiro? I’ll leave that part up to you” He laughs.

Shiro smiles and nods “I can certainly request anything we would need. And I can teach everyone how to care for their gear on the way”

Lance nods and pushes open the front door to the Smithy and is greeted by Vulis, the blacksmith. _“Hey! Glad you are here and I didn’t have to hunt you down”_ Lance grins _“Would it be possible to get some supplies from you? We will be setting out tomorrow. Sorry I couldn’t give more notice”_ Lance rubs the back of his head sheepishly and Vulis laughs.

 _“Of course you can have some supplies Lance, you and the others will need all the help you can get. I already have some crates packed for you all with leather and metal care supplies, as well as repair kits set up.”_ Vulis claps Lance on the shoulder before picking up two of the crates and looks to Shiro “You look strong. Mind grabbing the other two crates? I have all the supplies you will need for this trip, assuming you don’t destroy the gear” He barks out a laugh and sets them on the cart

Hunk and Shiro look at each other slightly confused as Vulis and Lance speak in what they guess is elven. When Vulis suddenly address’s Shiro, he snaps to attention “Ah, Yes Sir. I can get those” He walks over and picks up the crates setting them with the others “Thanks for getting the supplies together for us. That actually saves a lot of time” Shiro bows his head slightly.

Vulis waves his hand “Think nothing of it. It’s the least I can do considering it was all of you that did most of the driving off of the Galra. Besides, it’s less I have to move when we leave” He chuckles and looks at Lance _“Make sure to send a letter to your parents. I know you and your father were not on good terms when he left but he needs to know what happened and is going to happen. Your mother too.”_   He says in a chiding voice.

Lance cringes and nods _“I’ll write them… Thanks for the Supplies Vulis. I’ll probably see you again before we leave”_   He waves and hefts up the cart “Alright, next is food stores, they won’t be able to transport everything so we should be able to snag some from them” He grins at the two confused humans.

“So, was that like, your native language? I’ve heard it spoken a few times but it was all in passing. I’ve never actually listened to a conversation in it.  Think we could learn it?” Hunk asks eyes shining slightly.

Lance looks surprised and grins “Well sure. It will wake awhile to teach you but we can get some basic stuff out of the way during the trip. Ah, there are the food stores. It will mostly be dried foods, so hope you guys like dried deer”

Lance leads them around the village for a good chunk of the afternoon and the sun is setting when they finish their rounds. Lance grabs his things and helps load up the Ship with supplies before heading off to his place.

Shiro grabs the supplies for Keith and takes them up to him to find Keith Practicing stances with his blade. “Keith! You are supposed to be resting. Have you been doing this the entire time?” He scolds setting the bag down “You are going to aggravate your wounds! Put Red down and get back in bed” He crosses his arms a disproving glower on his face.

Keith sighs and sets Red down on the table next to him and sits down on the bed. “I was just getting a bit of practice in. I wasn’t doing anything strenuous” He pouts ear twitching “I slept for a bit but I woke up a bit ago and haven’t been able to sleep. I got restless. How did resource gathering go?  Well I’m guessing if you brought all this stuff to me” He looks at the bag curiously “What all is in there?”

Shiro sighs and opens up the bag pulling out clothing and hygiene supplies “This is all personal supplies. Any equipment has already been loaded onto ship so we don’t need to take care of that. Excess food from the stores was donated since they will be doing hunting as they travel and don’t need to take it all with them. The blacksmith donated supplies for our arms and armor so that’s covered, by the way you will be learning to take care of your equipment as we go”

Keith nods slightly looking at the various traveling clothing “Have they colour coded us or something? It seems like all of the clothing they give me is red, oh… Never mind I get it. It’s because I’m the Red Knight” He sighs and flops down “We set out tomorrow right? How early should I be up?” He inquires as he starts stretching on the bed.

Shiro shrugs “I’m sure the Princess will wake us when it’s time. I’m guessing that it will be earlier than any of us normally wake at so sleep while you can. And no more training today! I need to go bathe and pack up, I’ll see you in the morning” He waves slightly and leaves shutting the door behind him.

Keith grumbles and listens to Shiro’s footsteps fade away down the hall and slips off the bed. He goes to his window and pushes it open stepping out onto the small balcony looking outside. He sees the lantern’s begin to light up as the sunlight fades in the distance. He notices Lance walking to a part of the village he hasn’t been yet and climbs down the outside of the hut. He jogs to catch up and falls in step next to him “Good evening”

Lance looks surprised to see Keith join him “Oh, Good evening. Are you doing alright? Shouldn’t you be resting?” He asks frowning.

Keith’s ears go back and he glances away “I’m fine, everyone is acting like I’m glass or something. I don’t think walking through the village with you will make or break my injuries. Besides, it’s mostly bruises now. I think I can handle this”

Lance nods slightly and relaxes smiling “Good, well I’m glad you are doing better”

Keith nods “Well, I tend to bounce back pretty quickly. Probably has to do with not being a normal person. So, what are you doing this late? I thought we had an early morning?”

Lance nods “Yes, well I needed to send a letter to my parents… Figured I’d send it out now and worry about the other details later. I probably won’t be able to get their reply though. I haven’t written them in a while, we didn’t exactly part on good terms” he says with a deprecating laugh the usual light and energy gone from his eyes.

Keith looks confused and places his hand on his arm in an awkward attempt at comforting him. “Can I ask what happened?”

Lance looks surprised that he asked as they reach a roosting area with various birds. He nods at Keith and whistles and a blue and red feathered bird flits over to him and allows him to attach the small letter to it before taking off. “Well, my mother is a Human, and my father is an Elf. My mom wanted to move closer to more open human societies so that my brothers and sisters could grow up and make friends their age and find relationships with people their age. I said I wanted to stay here, and do what I could to help the village and be able to pass on the knowledge I learn here onto others. My mother was heartbroken I was not going with them and my father got upset over it. I haven’t really talked to them since, but I figured I should let them know that things are changing and that I’m still okay, so if something bad happens they still heard from me and won’t be none the wiser” He smiles sadly and runs a hand through his short hair “I just hope they haven’t been affect by the Galra”

Keith listens to Lance speak quietly and wrinkles his nose a bit before pulling Lance into an awkward hug “I’m sure your parents are fine, and we are going to kick Galra ass and I’m sure that you can fix things after all this is over. You’ll be a great hero!” He lets go hoping he didn’t over step his bounds.

Lance’s eyes are wide as Keith suddenly hugs him and reassures him. He smiles at Keith, the darkening sky hiding the slight brush blossoming on his cheeks “Hahaha…. You’re right. We will kick Galra ass and I’ll definitely go home a hero!” He claps Keith on the back lightly laughing looking to be feeling better almost instantly “Thanks… I needed that. Now, you really ought to go rest so you are ready for tomorrow. And don’t forget the ointment. It should clear up the rest of the bruising” He suggests as he leads Keith back through the winding path to his abode. “I’ll see you in the morrow.”

Keith nods to Lance before scaling back up the exterior to his room trying not to alert Shiro to his late stroll, and fails greatly as he sees Shiro standing in his doorway with a plate of food eyes narrowed disapprovingly. Keith groans and listens to Shiro’s scolding and takes it with a light heart and takes the food “Alright alright, I’m eating and going to bed. I promise this time” He smiles.

Shiro looks a bit surprised at Keith not being, well Keith when told to rest. “Oh, Alright. I’ll see you come departure then” He makes an odd face and walks out lost in thought.

Keith digs into the food and eats it all before grabbing the healing ointment and applying it to his remaining bruises. Once he feels he did a fairly decent job he tugged on a clean shirt and crawled into bed falling asleep quickly excited for what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a shorter chapter but It's all I really had for it -w-;; I'm hoping to have a longer chapter next time but I'm going to try to keep regular schedule as I can with work and even if they are shorter It will still be something and i don't take weeks to get another chapter out just so its long. Feel free to check out my Tumblr EternalWinterSleep to see me complain and accidentally re-blog things that are meant for my other blog Fiercaldra, which is where its random as to what is there. Comments are greatly appreciated <3


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